Roma, Lazio threatened with Serie A exclusion
Simon Evans
AS Roma and Lazio have six days to meet various financial requirements or else be barred from the forthcoming Italian league season, the Serie A finance authority Covisoc said in a statement on Tuesday.
Serie B teams Fiorentina, Genoa, Messina, Napoli, Palermo and Verona were also given until July 29 to get their finances in order or face exclusion.
A total of 15 teams in Serie C, Italy's third division, were also refused registration for the upcoming campaign due to the state of their finances.
All the teams have two days to appeal against the tough Covisoc ruling and they will almost certainly do so. They have no choice if they want to take part in the upcoming season which begins on September 1.
The unprecedented stream of warnings comes as Italian soccer faces a serious cash crisis, with hefty players' fees and wages leaving many teams facing huge debts.
Fiorentina, relegated from Serie A last season and with long-term financial problems, appear to be the most at risk of not getting their house in order in time for the September start.
Some media reports say they need to find 22 million euros ($21.85 million) to be in a position to satisfy the Italian Football League.
But it is the possible exclusion of Roma and Lazio, title winners in 2001 and 2000 respectively, that has shocked Italy.
MAYOR APPALLED
"It is unimaginable for the championship to take place without the Roman clubs," said Rome mayor Walter Veltroni.
"Roma and Lazio have won two of the last three titles and provided some of the best players to the national team. They are teams that are representing Italy in the world of sport and without them there won't be a championship.
"I hope the Football League and the Federation can get together with the clubs and resolve the problems," added Veltroni, who said he had already made contact with soccer authorities.
Officials from Roma and Lazio, which are both listed on the Milan stock exchange, expressed anger and bitterness at the Covisoc statement.
Roma chairman Franco Sensi told Ansa news agency that his club had been put on the blacklist because it had failed to hand over the required cash guarantees to secure its Serie A place.
"Roma has so far refused to pay up because I want to know why we are being asked to pay three times more than Inter or (AC) Milan," he was quoted as saying. "In the end we'll pay but first of all I want some explanations."
Lazio chairman Sergio Cragnotti said there had been a breakdown in communications between Italy's various soccer authorities, adding that he had already explained fully his club's situation -- a message he said Covisoc had not received.
"What has happened today is very serious, above all because Roma and Lazio are listed on the bourse and this way of doing things seriously risks undermining their shares," he told Ansa.
DRASTIC SITUATION
Last week a survey of Italian soccer's finances showed that Serie A clubs made a combined operating loss of 702 million euros ($697.1 million) in the 2000-01 season.
The drastic financial situation has even led some of Serie A's best-paid players, such as Inter Milan trio Ronaldo, Christian Vieri and Alvaro Recoba, to offer to take a pay cut.
The problems are also deep in Italy's lower divisions, although most of the Serie B clubs threatened with exclusion were quick to say they will be able to reach their targets in time.
Genoa's general director Gianni Blondet said his club's problems were merely a reflection of the general situation.
"The number of clubs that were not registered shows that the economic and financial problems are widespread across football.
"Our problems are not desperately serious -- the fact is that the money going out is double the money coming in."
